License plate holder for a motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

A license plate holder for a motor vehicle holds a vehicle license plate on the vehicle. The holder has a carrier plate to which the vehicle license plate can be fastened, and one or more devices for fastening the carrier plate to the vehicle in a license plate area provided for the vehicle license plate. Each fastening device has a base part fixedly arranged on the carrier plate and a securing part rotatably about a rotation axis arranged on the base part relatively thereto. Spaced away from the carrier plate, the securing part has at least one bracket radially projecting with respect to the rotation axis and can be swiveled about the rotation axis between a starting position and a securing position, whereby the at least one bracket  14  reaches behind a vehicle-fixed holding contour for fastening the carrier plate to the vehicle in the securing position.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the priority of DE 10 2005 033 873.9, filed Jul.20, 2005, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by referenceherein.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a license plate holder for a motorvehicle for holding a vehicle license plate on the vehicle, and also toa vehicle equipped with such a license plate holder.

In most countries, motor vehicles require permissions or licensing inorder to being operated in highway or street traffic. For this purpose,the vehicle receives a vehicle license plate which is also called anumber plate. For mounting the vehicle license plate, the vehicles aretherefore equipped with at least one license plate area in which therespective vehicle license plate can be fastened to the vehicle. Inprinciple, it is conceivable to fasten the respective vehicle licenseplate directly to the vehicle. However, in the case of modern vehicles,the use of a license plate holder of the initially mentioned type iscustomary. This type of license plate holder is fastened to the vehiclein the license plate area. The respective vehicle license plate is thenfastened to this license plate holder and is therefore no longerdirectly fastened to the vehicle but only indirectly by way of thelicense plate holder.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,685,188 shows a vehicle license plate is known which isequipped with lockable fastening devices. By way of these fasteningdevices, the vehicle license plate can be fastened directly to thevehicle. The fastening devices are designed in the manner of closingcylinders which can be changed by a key between a locked position and onopen position. In a first embodiment, pins are forced radially towardthe outside in the locked position, whereby the latter reach behind awall section of the vehicle. In the open position, these pins areradially adjusted so far toward the inside that the respective closingcylinder can be pulled out of the above-mentioned wall section. In asecond embodiment, the closing cylinder is equipped with a radiallyprojecting attachment which reaches behind a wall section of the vehiclein the locked position and, in the open position, is aligned with a slotwhich is arranged in the wall section and is shaped complementary to theattachment. Correspondingly, the closing cylinder can be pulled out ofthe above-mentioned wall in the open position. For implementing such adetachable fastening of the vehicle license plate on the vehicle, thevehicle is equipped with corresponding closing cylinder receivingdevices in the license plate area, which closing cylinder receivingdevices are visible when the vehicle license plate is removed.

The laws concerning the identification of vehicles may differ from onecountry to another. For example, different sizes of license plates maybe required. Furthermore, the stipulated positioning of the respectivelicense plate area on the vehicle may differ. The number of vehiclelicense plates to be mounted on the vehicle may also vary. In manycountries, it is compulsory, for example, to mount one vehicle licenseplate respectively on the vehicle in the front as well as in the rear.Simultaneously, there are countries in which the vehicle does not haveto have a vehicle license plate in the front. A license plate area,which is recognizable as such in countries in which it is not required,may impair the aesthetic impression of the vehicle.

The present invention addresses the problem of indicating anadvantageous method of mounting vehicle license plates on the vehicle tosimplify particularly a subsequent mounting of the license plate holderon the vehicle.

The present invention is based on the general recognition of equippingthe license plate holder with at least one fastening device which, forfastening a carrier plate provided for mounting the vehicle licenseplate in the license plate area on the vehicle, has a securing partwhich is rotatably disposed on a base part of the fastening device and,in a securing position, reaches behind a holding contour fixed to thevehicle. In a starting position of the securing part, it is freed fromthe holding contour and is aligned with an opening, through which thesecuring part can be positioned relative to the holding contour. Thelicense plate holder can thereby be subsequently mounted on the vehiclein a particularly simple manner. In this case, particularlyvehicle-fixed areas which are situated on the vehicle anyhow, can beused as the holding contour. The vehicle-side expenditures for theimplementation of a fastening possibility for the vehicle license plateby the license plate holder are therefore minimal. In addition, in thecase of such an embodiment, the license plate area of the vehicle cannotbe recognized as such when the license plate holder is absent.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the securing part can be fixedin its securing position by a screw on the base part in an axial mannerwith respect to the axis of rotation. The respective fastening devicetherefore comprises, in addition to the base part which is mounted onthe carrier plate and the securing part, a third part, specifically thescrew by way of which the two other parts are axially fastened to oneanother. The fastening device can thereby be implemented in an extremelycost-effective manner.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present inventionwill become apparent from the following detailed description of theinvention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified perspective top view of a motor vehicle in thearea of a radiator grill;

FIG. 2 is a simplified sectional view of a license plate holder alongline II-II in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a base part of a fasteningdevice;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a securing part of theembodiment according to FIG. 3;

FIGS. 5 to 7 are schematic perspective views of the fastening deviceshown in FIGS. 3 and 4 under different conditions; and

FIGS. 8 to 11 are schematic perspective views of another embodiment offastening device under different conditions similar to that illustratedin FIGS. 5 and 7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Corresponding to FIG. 1, a vehicle 1, which need only be shown here inthe area of its front-end radiator grill 2, comprises at least onelicense plate area designated generally by numeral 3. This license platearea 3 is used for mounting a known type of vehicle license plate (ornumber plate), which need not be shown here, on the vehicle 1. Themounting of the vehicle license plate on the vehicle 1 does not takeplace directly but indirectly by way of a license plate holder 4 that isfastened to the vehicle 1 in the license plate area 3. This licenseplate holder 4 comprises a carrier plate 5 as well as one or morefastening devices 6.

The carrier plate 5 has a front side 7 which, in the mounted condition,faces away from the license plate area 3, and (as better seen in FIG. 2)a rear side 8 which, in the mounted condition, faces the license platearea 3. The carrier plate 5 is dimensioned such that the respectivevehicle license plate can be fastened to its front side 7. For thefastening of the vehicle license plate, the carrier plate 5 can beequipped with suitable fastening devices. For example, the vehiclelicense plate can be screwed, glued or snapped onto the carrier plate 5.In the illustrated preferred embodiment, several, specifically, fourfastening devices 6 are provided in order to fasten the carrier plate 5to the vehicle 1.

Referring to FIG. 2, each fastening device 6 comprises a base part 9 anda securing part 10. In addition, a screw 11 with a head 12 may beprovided. The base part 9 is fixedly arranged on the carrier plate 5; inparticular, it is produced in one piece therewith. The fastening devices6 are constructed on the rear side 8 of the carrier plate 5 and projecttherefrom. Rotatably about an axis of rotation 13, the respectivesecuring part 10 is arranged at the respective base part 9. At least inthe mounted condition shown in FIG. 2, with respect to each fasteningdevice 6, the securing part 10 is axially fixed relative to the basepart 9 by the screw 11.

Spaced away from the carrier plate 5, the respective securing part 10has at least one radially projecting bracket 14. In the illustratedembodiments, the securing part 10 has two such brackets 14 respectivelywhich are diametrically arranged with respect to the rotation axis 13.

When the license plate holder 4 is not mounted on the vehicle, or whenthe securing part 10 is not fixed to the base part 9 by the screw 11,the respective securing part 10 can be swiveled about the rotation axis13 relative to the base part 9 between a starting position and thesecuring position illustrated in FIG. 2. In the securing position, thebrackets 14 each reach behind a vehicle-fixed holding contour 15 inorder to fasten the carrier plate 5 to the vehicle 1 in this manner.This securing position of the securing part 10 can be secured bytightening of the screw 11. In this case, it is basically contemplatedaxially to brace the securing part 10 by the screw 11 on the base part 9such that a sufficient antitwist protection of the securing part 10 isensured. In addition or as an alternative, by tightening of the screw11, the respective holding contour 15 can be axially clamped in betweenthe brackets 14 and the carrier plate 5 such that, a sufficientantitwist protection results for the securing part 10.

The license plate area 3 is preferably provided on the radiator grill 2or on a partial area of the radiator grill 2. The radiator grill 2 hasseveral vertical webs 16 and several horizontal webs 17 which form agrid characteristic of the radiator grill 2. These struts 16, 17,particularly the horizontal struts 17, form the vehicle-fixed holdingcontour 15. The holding contour 15 is formed by rear side edges of thehorizontal webs 17 facing away from the carrier plate 5. When thelicense plate holder 4 is absent, the license plate area 3 within theradiator grill 2 will not be visible. The holding contours 15 formed bythe horizontal webs 17 are already present on the radiator grill 2, sothat the license plate area 3 will not be recognizable when the licenseplate holder 4 is absent.

For the mounting and demounting of the license plate holder 4, thesecuring parts 10 can be rotated with respect to their base parts 9,preferably by approximately 90 degrees. The brackets 14 will then extendparallel to the horizontal webs 17 and, as a result, can be fittedparticularly easily through the radiator slots 18. These radiator slots18 are in each case framed by two adjacent vertical webs 16 and twoadjacent horizontal webs 17 respectively.

Since the radiator grill 2 as a whole is available as a license platearea 3, it is basically contemplated to mount license place brackets 4of different sizes on the radiator grill 2, which brackets are adaptedto vehicle license plates of different sizes corresponding to legalstipulations.

Corresponding to FIG. 2, the radiator grill 2 may have a curvature atleast on a side facing the license plate holder 4. The carrier plate 5is adapted to this curvature on its rear side 8. An edge 19 of thecarrier plate 5 projecting toward the rear on the rear side 8 may, forexample, be longer at the top than at the bottom. Likewise, flushopenings 20 may be deeper at the top than at the bottom. Through theseflush openings 20, the respective screw 11 can be screwed through thebase part 9 into the securing part 10, specifically such that, when thescrew is tightened 11, the screw head 12 is arranged to be sunk in theflush opening 20. When the vehicle license plate is mounted on thelicense plate holder 4, the flush openings 20 are fully covered. As aresult, the fastening devices 6 are invisible and inaccessible from thefront.

In the mounted condition, the front side 7 of the carrier plate 5preferably extends in a vertical plane, so that the vehicle licenseplate also can be mounted in a vertically plane manner.

FIG. 2 also indicates that the screws 11 each extend coaxially withrespect to the respective rotation axis 13. In the process, the screws11 penetrate a respective passage opening 21 constructed in the basepart 9 by way their respective shafts (not shown in detail), and arescrewed into a screw opening 22 constructed on the respective securingpart 10. The screw heads 12 are accessible from the front side 7 of thecarrier plate 5, so that the license plate holder 4 can be mounted onthe vehicle 1 from the front to permit fast and simple mounting.

In the following description, additional characteristics of thefastening devices 6 will be explained in detail without limiting thegenerality by way of an embodiment corresponding to FIGS. 3 to 7.

The securing part 10 is preferably held at the base part 9 in a captivemanner, specifically even if no screw 11 is screwed in. This captivecondition can preferably be implemented by a clip connection 23 whichaxially secures the securing part 10 on the base part 9. This clipconnection 23 is implemented here in that the base part 9 has at leastone, as illustrated, two, clip arms 24 that project axially in thedirection of the securing part 10 and are radially elastic. Radially onthe inside, each clip arm 24 has a clip nose 25. In addition, thesecuring part 10 is equipped with two sleeve segments 26 which radiallyon the outside each have a clip contour 27. These clip contours 27 haveconfigurations complementary to the clip noses 25 so that, when thesecuring part 10 is fitted in alignment with the rotation axis 13 ontothe base part, the clip noses 25 reach behind the clip contours 27.

Furthermore, the base part 9 is equipped with a cylinder section 28which projects coaxially with respect to the rotation axis 13 in thedirection of the securing part 10. This cylinder section 28 contains thepassage bore 21. The sleeve segments 26 of the securing part 10 can befitted onto this cylinder section 28. When the screw 11 is absent, thesecuring part 10 is axially adjustably held on the base part 9, with thesleeve segments 26 together with the sleeve section 28 forming an axialguide.

Referring to FIG. 4, the brackets 14 each have a contact surface 29 onan underside facing the base part 9. The contact surfaces 29 have ashape complementary to the holding contour 15. In this manner, thebrackets 14 rest form lockingly against the holding contours in themounted condition. The fastening devices 6 may each have one rotationstop respectively for the securing part 10 for the starting position andfor the securing position.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, at least one axial web 30 maybe provided on the cylinder section 28 for implementing these rotationstops. Two such axial webs 30 are preferably provided which are arrangedto be diametrically opposite with respect to the axis of rotation 13.Each axial web 30 projects radially from the cylinder section 28 andextends parallel to the rotation axis 13. The sleeve segments 26 nowinteract with these axial webs 30 for forming the rotation stops. Withrespect to FIG. 5, in particular, in the starting position, the sleevesegments 26 come to rest in one rotating direction against the axialwebs 30 and thereby form a rotation stop assigned to the startingposition. With respect to FIGS. 6 and 7, in the securing position, thesleeve segments 26 come to rest in the counter-rotating directionagainst the axial webs 30 and thereby form the rotation stop assigned tothe securing position.

Furthermore, the fastening devices 6 can be equipped with a rotationlock 31 assigned to the starting position. For implementing thisrotation lock 31, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the cylinder section 28can be equipped with at least one radially projecting detent nose 32. Asillustrated, two such detent noses 32 are arranged diametricallyopposite with respect to the rotation axis 13. These detent noses 32extend, for example, parallel to the rotation axis 13 along the entirecylinder section 28. On their interior sides facing the cylinder section28, the sleeve segments 26 each have a detent opening 33 that has ashape complementary to that of the respective detent nose 32; thus here,the shape of an axial longitudinal groove.

By way of the rotation lock 31, the starting position of the securingpart 10 can be secured in the not yet mounted condition in order tosimplify the mounting of the license plate holder 4. The rotation lock31 is therefore dimensioned such that it is overcome when the screw 11is screwed in. By way of a corresponding relative position between thestarting position and the securing position, the securing part 10 canautomatically be changed into the securing position by the screwing-inof the screw 11.

The mounting of the license plate holder 4 on the vehicle is carried outas follows. For preparing the license plate holder 4, the securing parts10 are fitted onto the base parts 9 and are changed into the startingposition shown in FIG. 5. In this starting position, the securing parts10 can be secured by the above-described rotation lock 31. Furthermore,this relative position is defined by the rotation stop assigned to thestarting position. The rotation stop comprises the axial webs 30 and thesleeve segments 26 interacting therewith. The securing part 10 is freelymovable on the base part 9 in the axial direction but is held on thebase part 9 in a captive manner by the clip connection 23.

After the positioning of the license plate holder 4 in the license platearea 3, for example, by introducing the fastening devices 6 in theradiator slots 18, the screws 11 are screwed from front side 7 of thecarrier plate 5 through the passage openings 21 into the screw openings22 of the securing parts 10. When the screws 11 are tightened, theholding force of the rotation lock 31 is overcome. As a result, thesecuring part 10 rotates along with the screw 11 until the securing part10 reaches its securing position. When swiveling into the securingposition, the brackets 14 reach behind the holding contour 15 of thevehicle. This relative position is defined by the rotation stop assignedto the securing position. This rotation stop is comprised of theinteraction of the axial webs 30 and the sleeve segments 26 asillustrated in FIG. 6.

Because the securing part 10 is secured in the securing position by therotation stop, a further screwing-in of the screw will have the resultthat the securing part 10 moves axially toward the base part 9. As aresult, the holding contour 15 is clamped in between the brackets 14 andthe carrier plate 5. In this case, it is basically contemplated to screwthe securing part 10 tight up to the axial contact with the base part 9.FIG. 7 shows the end condition in which the securing 10 has maximallyaxially approached the base part 9.

In another embodiment of the fastening devices 6 illustrated in FIGS. 8to 11, the respective base part 9 is equipped with a cylinder 34 whichextends coaxially with respect to the rotation axis 13. This cylinder 34has at least one projection 35 which projects radially from the cylinder34. Preferably, two such projections 35 are provided which are arrangeddiametrically opposite on the cylinder 34. The securing part 10 has asleeve 36 which can be fitted on the outside onto the cylinder 34. Foreach projection 35, the sleeve 36 contains a connecting link guide 37 inthe form of an axially and circumferentially limited recess of thesleeve 36. When the sleeve 36 is fitted onto the cylinder 34, therespective projection 35 projects radially into the respectiveconnecting link guide 37. In this manner, the securing part 10 is heldin a captive manner on the base part 9 and, in addition, is limited withrespect to its rotatability about the rotation axis 13.

In order to simplify the fitting of the sleeve 36 onto the cylinder 34,the sleeve 36 can be provided with a lead-in bevel 38. The latter isconstructed on a wall section away from the brackets 14 and bounding theconnecting link opening 37. This lead-in bevel 38 is arranged such thatthe securing part 10 has to be aligned into a fitting-on positionrelative to the base part 9 for fitting the sleeve 36 onto the cylinder34. The fitting-on position is situated between the starting positionand the securing position. In addition, the above-mentioned wall sectionof the connecting link opening 37 interacts with the projection 35 forforming an axial clip connection 23.

The connecting link openings 37 are preferably dimensioned such thatthey interact with the projections 35 for forming a rotation stopassigned to the starting position. Furthermore, the connecting linkguides and the projections 35 may form a rotation lock 31 assigned tothe starting position or a corresponding other arrangement which securesthe starting position when the screw 11 is absent. Corresponding toFIGS. 10 and 11, the connecting link openings 37 may interact with theprojections also for forming a rotation stop assigned to the securingposition.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 8 to 11 operates analogously to theembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 7. Reference can therefore be madein this respect to the above description of the operation, with respectto the functionality, with the conditions of FIGS. 5 to 7 correspondingto the conditions of FIGS. 9 to 11.

It should also be clear to one skilled in the art that individualcharacteristics or groups of characteristics of the one embodimentcorresponding to FIGS. 3 to 7 can be combined with and/or exchanged forindividual characteristics and groups of characteristics of the otherembodiment corresponding to FIGS. 8 to 11 within the scope of thepresent invention.

The foregoing disclosure has been set forth merely to illustrate theinvention and is not intended to be limiting. Since modifications of thedisclosed embodiments incorporating the spirit and substance of theinvention may occur to persons skilled in the art, the invention shouldbe construed to include everything within the scope of the appendedclaims and equivalents thereof.

1. License plate holder for a motor vehicle for holding a vehiclelicense plate on a motor vehicle, comprising: a carrier plate to whichthe vehicle license plate is fastenable, and at least one fasteningdevice for fastening the carrier plate to the motor vehicle in a licenseplate area provided for the license plate, wherein the respectivefastening device has a base part fixedly arranged on the carrier plate,and a securing part arranged on the base part relatively theretorotatably about a rotation axis, the securing part has, spaced away fromthe carrier plate, at least one bracket radially projecting with respectto the rotation axis, the securing part being swivellable about therotation axis between a starting position and a securing position, andthe at least one bracket is configured to reach behind a vehicle-fixedholding contour, for fastening the carrier plate to the vehicle in thesecuring position.
 2. License plate holder according to claim 1, whereinat least one of the following is provided: with the carrier plate isfastened to the vehicle, the holding contour is axially clamped in thesecuring position between the at least one bracket and the carrier plateand, the respective bracket has a contact surface shaped complementaryto the holding contour, the license plate area is provided on at least aportion of the radiator grill or another opening with vertical webs andhorizontal webs, the holding contour is formed by webs of a radiatorgrill, the starting position and the securing position are rotated by90° with respect to one another, a rear side of the carrier plate facingthe radiator grill is adapted to a curvature of a side of the radiatorgrill facing the carrier plate, a rear side of the carrier plate issloped with respect to a front side of the carrier plate such that, inthe mounted condition, the front side provided for the fastening of thevehicle license plate is situated in a vertical plane, and the carrierplate is equipped with at least one fastening device.
 3. License plateholder according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following isprovided: the securing part is axially fixed in its securing position bya screw on the base part with respect to the rotation axis, the screwextends coaxially with respect to the rotation axis, the screw has ascrew head accessible for the turning of the screw on a front side ofthe carrier plate facing away from the license plate area in the mountedcondition of the license plate holder, on a rear side of the carrierplate facing the license plate area in the mounted condition of thelicense plate holder, the base part projects from the carrier plate, thebase part has a passage opening for the screw, and the base part has aflush opening on the front side of the carrier plate, in which flushopening a screw head of the screw is arranged in a sunk manner when thecarrier plate is fastened to the vehicle.
 4. License plate holderaccording to claim 3, wherein at least one of the following is provided:with the carrier plate is fastened to the vehicle, the holding contouris axially clamped in the securing position between the at least onebracket and the carrier plate and, the respective bracket has a contactsurface shaped complementary to the holding contour, the license platearea is provided on at least a portion of the radiator grill or anotheropening with vertical webs and horizontal webs, the holding contour isformed by webs of a radiator grill, the starting position and thesecuring position are rotated by 90° with respect to one another, a rearside of the carrier plate facing the radiator grill is adapted to acurvature of a side of the radiator grill facing the carrier plate, arear side of the carrier plate is sloped with respect to a front side ofthe carrier plate such that, in the mounted condition, the front sideprovided for the fastening of the vehicle license plate is situated in avertical plane, and the carrier plate is equipped with at least onefastening device.
 5. License plate holder according to claim 1, whereinat least one of the following is provided: the securing part iscaptively held on the base part, the securing part is held on the basepart by an axial clip connection with respect to the rotation axis, andthe securing part can be fixed on the base part by a screw and, when thescrew is absent or not tightened, is axially adjustably arranged withrespect to the rotation axis on the base part.
 6. License plate holderaccording to claim 5, wherein at least one of the following is provided:with the carrier plate is fastened to the vehicle, the holding contouris axially clamped in the securing position between the at least onebracket and the carrier plate and, the respective bracket has a contactsurface shaped complementary to the holding contour, the license platearea is provided on at least a portion of the radiator grill or anotheropening with vertical webs and horizontal webs, the holding contour isformed by webs of a radiator grill, the starting position and thesecuring position are rotated by 90° with respect to one another, a rearside of the carrier plate facing the radiator grill is adapted to acurvature of a side of the radiator grill facing the carrier plate, arear side of the carrier plate is sloped with respect to a front side ofthe carrier plate such that, in the mounted condition, the front sideprovided for the fastening of the vehicle license plate is situated in avertical plane, and the carrier plate is equipped with at least onefastening device.
 7. License plate holder according to claim 5, whereinat least one of the following is provided: the securing part is axiallyfixed in its securing position by a screw on the base part with respectto the rotation axis, the screw extends coaxially with respect to therotation axis, the screw has a screw head accessible for the turning ofthe screw on a front side of the carrier plate facing away from thelicense plate area in the mounted condition of the license plate holder,on a rear side of the carrier plate facing the license plate area in themounted condition of the license plate holder, the base part projectsfrom the carrier plate, the base part has a passage opening for thescrew, and the base part has a flush opening on the front side of thecarrier plate, in which flush opening a screw head of the screw isarranged in a sunk manner when the carrier plate is fastened to thevehicle.
 8. License plate holder according to claim 1, wherein at leastone of the following is provided: a rotation stop assigned to thestarting position is constructed on at least one of the base part and onthe securing part, a rotation stop assigned to the securing position isconstructed on at least one of the base part and on the securing part, arotation lock assigned to the starting position or a corresponding lockis constructed on at least one of the base part and on the securingpart, the rotation lock has at least one detent opening on the base partor on the securing part and has at least one detent nose complementaryto the detent opening on the respective other part, and the securingpart is fixable on the base part by a screw, the rotation lock beingdimensioned so as to be overcome by tightening of the screw.
 9. Licenseplate holder according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the followingis provided: with the carrier plate is fastened to the vehicle, theholding contour is axially clamped in the securing position between theat least one bracket and the carrier plate and, the respective brackethas a contact surface shaped complementary to the holding contour, thelicense plate area is provided on at least a portion of the radiatorgrill or another opening with vertical webs and horizontal webs, theholding contour is formed by webs of a radiator grill, the startingposition and the securing position are rotated by 90° with respect toone another, a rear side of the carrier plate facing the radiator grillis adapted to a curvature of a side of the radiator grill facing thecarrier plate, a rear side of the carrier plate is sloped with respectto a front side of the carrier plate such that, in the mountedcondition, the front side provided for the fastening of the vehiclelicense plate is situated in a vertical plane, and the carrier plate isequipped with at least one fastening device.
 10. License plate holderaccording to claim 8, wherein at least one of the following is provided:the securing part is axially fixed in its securing position by a screwon the base part with respect to the rotation axis, the screw extendscoaxially with respect to the rotation axis, the screw has a screw headaccessible for the turning of the screw on a front side of the carrierplate facing away from the license plate area in the mounted conditionof the license plate holder, on a rear side of the carrier plate facingthe license plate area in the mounted condition of the license plateholder, the base part projects from the carrier plate, the base part hasa passage opening for the screw, and the base part has a flush openingon the front side of the carrier plate, in which flush opening a screwhead of the screw is arranged in a sunk manner when the carrier plate isfastened to the vehicle.
 11. License plate holder according to claim 8,wherein at least one of the following is provided: the securing part iscaptively held on the base part, the securing part is held on the basepart by an axial clip connection with respect to the rotation axis, andthe securing part can be fixed on the base part by a screw and, when thescrew is absent or not tightened, is axially adjustably arranged withrespect to the rotation axis on the base part.
 12. License plate holderaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the following is provided:the base part has a cylinder from which at least one projection projectsradially, the securing part has a sleeve fitted onto the cylinder, whichsleeve has at least one axially and circumferentially limited connectinglink opening into which the projection projects radially, and therespective connecting link opening is dimensioned so that, together withthe pertaining projection, at least one of a rotation stop assigned tothe starting position, a rotation stop assigned to the securing positionand a rotation lock assigned to the starting position is or are formed.13. License plate holder according to claim 12, wherein at least one ofthe following is provided: with the carrier plate is fastened to thevehicle, the holding contour is axially clamped in the securing positionbetween the at least one bracket and the carrier plate and, therespective bracket has a contact surface shaped complementary to theholding contour, the license plate area is provided on at least aportion of the radiator grill or another opening with vertical webs andhorizontal webs, the holding contour is formed by webs of a radiatorgrill, the starting position and the securing position are rotated by90° with respect to one another, a rear side of the carrier plate facingthe radiator grill is adapted to a curvature of a side of the radiatorgrill facing the carrier plate, a rear side of the carrier plate issloped with respect to a front side of the carrier plate such that, inthe mounted condition, the front side provided for the fastening of thevehicle license plate is situated in a vertical plane, and the carrierplate is equipped with at least one fastening device.
 14. License plateholder according to claim 12, wherein at least one of the following isprovided: the securing part is axially fixed in its securing position bya screw on the base part with respect to the rotation axis, the screwextends coaxially with respect to the rotation axis, the screw has ascrew head accessible for the turning of the screw on a front side ofthe carrier plate facing away from the license plate area in the mountedcondition of the license plate holder, on a rear side of the carrierplate facing the license plate area in the mounted condition of thelicense plate holder, the base part projects from the carrier plate, thebase part has a passage opening for the screw, and the base part has aflush opening on the front side of the carrier plate, in which flushopening a screw head of the screw is arranged in a sunk manner when thecarrier plate is fastened to the vehicle.
 15. License plate holderaccording to claim 12, wherein at least one of the following isprovided: the securing part is captively held on the base part, thesecuring part is held on the base part by an axial clip connection withrespect to the rotation axis, and the securing part can be fixed on thebase part by a screw and, when the screw is absent or not tightened, isaxially adjustably arranged with respect to the rotation axis on thebase part.
 16. License plate holder according to claim 12, wherein atleast one of the following is provided: a rotation stop assigned to thestarting position is constructed on at least one of the base part and onthe securing part, a rotation stop assigned to the securing position isconstructed on at least one of the base part and on the securing part, arotation lock assigned to the starting position or a corresponding lockis constructed on at least one of the base part and on the securingpart, the rotation lock has at least one detent opening on the base partor on the securing part and has at least one detent nose complementaryto the detent opening on the respective other part, and the securingpart is fixable on the base part by a screw, the rotation lock beingdimensioned so as to be overcome by tightening of the screw.
 17. Licenseplate holder according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the followingis provided: the base part has a cylinder section from which at leastone axial web projects radially, the securing part has at least twosleeve segments fitted onto the cylinder section, of which at least oneinteracts with the at least one axial web for forming a rotation stopassigned to at least one of the starting position and to the securingposition, radially on its outside, at least one of the sleeve segmentshas a clip contour, and the base part has at least one axiallyprojecting, radially elastic clip arm which, radially on its inside, hasa clip nose complementary to the clip contour, which clip nose reachesbehind the clip contour.
 18. License plate holder according to claim 17,wherein at least one of the following is provided: with the carrierplate is fastened to the vehicle, the holding contour is axially clampedin the securing position between the at least one bracket and thecarrier plate and, the respective bracket has a contact surface shapedcomplementary to the holding contour, the license plate area is providedon at least a portion of the radiator grill or another opening withvertical webs and horizontal webs, the holding contour is formed by websof a radiator grill, the starting position and the securing position arerotated by 90° with respect to one another, a rear side of the carrierplate facing the radiator grill is adapted to a curvature of a side ofthe radiator grill facing the carrier plate, a rear side of the carrierplate is sloped with respect to a front side of the carrier plate suchthat, in the mounted condition, the front side provided for thefastening of the vehicle license plate is situated in a vertical plane,and the carrier plate is equipped with at least one fastening device.19. License plate holder according to claim 17, wherein at least one ofthe following is provided: the securing part is axially fixed in itssecuring position by a screw on the base part with respect to therotation axis, the screw extends coaxially with respect to the rotationaxis, the screw has a screw head accessible for the turning of the screwon a front side of the carrier plate facing away from the license platearea in the mounted condition of the license plate holder, on a rearside of the carrier plate facing the license plate area in the mountedcondition of the license plate holder, the base part projects from thecarrier plate, the base part has a passage opening for the screw, andthe base part has a flush opening on the front side of the carrierplate, in which flush opening a screw head of the screw is arranged in asunk manner when the carrier plate is fastened to the vehicle. 20.License plate holder according to claim 17, wherein at least one of thefollowing is provided: the securing part is captively held on the basepart, the securing part is held on the base part by an axial clipconnection with respect to the rotation axis, and the securing part canbe fixed on the base part by a screw and, when the screw is absent ornot tightened, is axially adjustably arranged with respect to therotation axis on the base part.
 21. License plate holder according toclaim 17, wherein at least one of the following is provided: a rotationstop assigned to the starting position is constructed on at least one ofthe base part and on the securing part, a rotation stop assigned to thesecuring position is constructed on at least one of the base part and onthe securing part, a rotation lock assigned to the starting position ora corresponding lock is constructed on at least one of the base part andon the securing part, the rotation lock has at least one detent openingon the base part or on the securing part and has at least one detentnose complementary to the detent opening on the respective other part,and the securing part is fixable on the base part by a screw, therotation lock being dimensioned so as to be overcome by tightening ofthe screw.
 22. License plate holder according to claim 17, wherein atleast one of the following is provided: the base part has a cylinderfrom which at least one projection projects radially, the securing parthas a sleeve fitted onto the cylinder, which sleeve has at least oneaxially and circumferentially limited connecting link opening into whichthe projection projects radially, and the respective connecting linkopening is dimensioned so that, together with the pertaining projection,there is formed at least one of a rotation stop assigned to the startingposition, a rotation stop assigned to the securing position and arotation lock assigned to the starting position.
 23. Vehicle,particularly a passenger car, having at least one license plate areaprovided for mounting a vehicle license plate, in which license platearea, a license plate holder according to claim 1 is fastened to thevehicle.
 24. Vehicle according to claim 23, wherein at least one of thefollowing is provided: when the license plate holder is absent, thelicense plate area cannot be recognized as such, the holding contour ofthe vehicle is already formed by vehicle-fixed areas situated on thevehicle, the license plate area is formed by a radiator grill or aportion of the radiator grill whose struts are used as a reach-behindholding contour, and the license plate holder with the securing partsadjusted into their starting position are fittable through radiatorslots which are each framed by adjacent vertical webs and adjacenthorizontal webs.